ill Clear! 



fp 



By h 

JOHN OXENHAM 

Author of 
"Be«9 in Amber," "Ati's W«U.'" etc., etc. 




Ail Clear / 

All Clear ! 
The Cumbered uHty* are free 
For mtm to build, txs C""*^ '•'"^ 
His glorious liberty. 



ALL CLEAR! " A BOOK OF 
VERSE COMMEMORATIVE 
OF THE GREAT PEACE 
BY JOHN OXENHAM 
PUBLISHE'b BY THE 
BUSINESS PRESS, INC.. 235 
WILLIAM ST., NEW YORK 



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Copyright 1919 

BY 

John Oxenham 



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TO 

ALL HIGH SOULS 
WHO 
SEEKING NOT THEIR OWN GOOD 
BUT THE GLORY OF GOD 
AND THE 
GOOD OF THEIR FELLOWS ARE 
STRIVING TO BUILD THE NEW LIFE 
THIS LITTLE BOOK 
IS INSCRIBED 
IN THE GREAT HOPE THAT 
OUT OF PRESENT LOSS SHALL COME 
A GREATER GAIN'. 



dontents 
'ALL CLEARr 



PAGE 

I. The Watcher at the Door . . 1 

II. Earth's Travail . . . . 5 

III. Earth's Warf.'VRES . . . . 9 

IV. Then Rose a Man . . . . 13 

Come back to Me, now, O My 
Children ! 

V. The Opening of the Door . . 17 

VI. The Door Swung Wide . . 20 

To Men of Good-zvill — Peace! 21 

We thank Thee, Lord! .. 21 

Hear the Glad Tidings! . . 23 

Hoiv many, Lord, have died . . 24 

All Clear! All Clear! .. 25 

VII. So Christ came back again . . 27 

VIII. Then was Earth made anew . . 30 



THE BOOK OF PRAISE. 

I. The Nobler Ecstacy . . . . 33 

II. In Nights and Days . . . . 35 

The Great Procession of the Days 37 

Til. In all Thy Heavens . . . . 39 

De Profundis 41 

IV. In all Thy Temples . . . . 42 

What is man? .. ., 45 



PAGE 

V. In Service . . . . . . 47 

I sert'e . . . . . . 50 

VI. In all Fair Waters . . . . Si 

The River of God .. .. 52 

VII. In all Things Growing . . 53 

O'ne of the first things God made 56 

VIII. In Thy Skies 58 

Free! Free! Free would I be! 60 

IX. In all Bird-Voices . . . . 62 

The wonderful trust of a birdling 65 

X, In Nature's Wonders . . . . 67 

Thank God for opened eyes . . 72 

XI. In all Thy Hidden Workings 73 

I^i silence and in quietness . . 75 

XII. In all Thy Creatures . . 77 

Let every living thing praise God 80 

XIII. In Times and Seasons .. .. 81 

Let all men everywhere praise 

God! .. .. ' .. .. 83 

XIV. In Life ... In Death . . 84 

Life!— Death!— What then?.. 87 



fforeworD 



Four years of the most hideous warfare the 
world has ever known — or, we may now hope, 
is ever like to know — have razed the old 
House of Life to the' ground. The world is 
still sore cumbered with the ruins, but slow- 
ly and surely they are being cleared away and 
cast on the scrap-heap. 

Crowns and Kingdoms have fallen to the 
dust. Those who took the sword, and forced 
a reluctant world in self-defence to do the 
same, have fallen by the sword, and for the 
most part they are powerless for further active 
ill. For which we are devoutly thankful. 

But— after the clearance must come the re- 
building, and unless that is done on righteous 
lines all this horror will have been futile — 
the losses we have suffered, both by war and 
pestilence, will be as nothing compared with 
the thrown-away future, — the loss of That 
Which Might and Ought To Be. 

The old order can never be nenewed. We 
are grateful, for it was full of evil. 

The New Temple of Life must be built on 
surer foundations and in all ways builded 
better. 

The only foundation is Christ. The only 
builder is God, through His servants. Any- 
thing less is world-loss that may never be 
retrieved. 

Man's refusal of God's Proffered Way, 
1900 years ago, was the sorest rebuff He ever 
received, and the greatest blow. Yet His 
great offer has never been withdrawn. It 
still holds good. 



Until the world turns from its own ways 
to His, and from the depths of its soul de- 
sires Christ back into its Life, all its strivings 
are in vain — blind and futile beatings of the 
wind and ploughings of the sand. 

That is the simple fundamental fact which 
there is no gainsaying and no shirking. 

We are face to face with it, and it means 
world-life or world-death. 

What are you doing about it? 

JOHN OXENHAM. 



All clear! 

All clear! 
The cumbered ways are free 
For man to. build, a^ God hath willed, 
His glorious liberty. 
If but man will 
Turn from his ill. 
And own His sovereignty. 
His loftiest hopes he shall fulfil; 
God's proffered grace is proffered still, — 
// — but — man — will! 



All ailear! 



I HEARD a knocking on The Outer Door 
That stands betwixt man and the Infinite ; 
And every knock re-echoed in my heart, 
And in the troubled heart-beats of the 
world. 

The Door stood fast, with complex bolts 

and bars 
That could be opened only from within, 
And He who knocked stood patiently 

without, 
And knocked .... and knocked .... and 

waited But 

The bolts were rusted stiff with many a 

sin. 
And no man rose to loosen them 
And let Him in. 

Within were noises multitudinous, 
Confusions vast and endless, hopeless 

strife; 
Earth's millions, swarming like an angry 

hive, 
Fought for their lives but gave no 

thought to Life. 



2 "ALL CLEAR!" 

How should that knocking on the Outer 

Door 
Be heard amid such murderous uproar? 

Small thought indeed they gave, and 

still less heed 
To Him who stood so patiently without 
And knocked upon The Door, and on 

their hearts, 
Bolted as surely lest He should come in. 

And if one, here and there, with quick- 
ened sense, — 

On bed of pain or overwhelmed with woe, 

When the night-watches dragged so 
leaden slow, — 

Did hear, in his own heart-beats, echo low 

Of that persistent knocking on The Door, 

He would turn, restless, on his tumbled 
bed. 

And cry perchance, — "Yes, yes! — I 
hear ! — I know ! 

And presently I'll let Thee in. . . . but 
now " 

Then, conscience-pricked and soothed, 
would fall asleep 

Or to his woes again. 

And He without; — 
His feet were bleeding from the road 
That He so hopefully had trod 
To lead men back to God. 



"ALL CLEAR!" 3 

His brow still bore the scurril thorn, 

— The noblest crown was ever worn — 

His fair white robe was stained and torn ; 

But yet no suppliant forlorn 

Was He 

Who waited there so patiently. 

His face was sad yet full of loving hope — 

— The saddest face the world has ever 
seen. 

Yet Love, 

That conquered Death, still hopeful strove 

With that sore challenge of the close- 
barred Door, 

Nor would surrender smallest shred of 
hope, 

But hoping, lived and loved and hoped 
the more. 

For Love lives on though Hope may 
droop and die, 

Since Christ Himself gave Love her 
amaranth crown 

Of Immortality. 

The gentle hands that ever wrought 
men's good 

Still bore the wounds of man's ingrati- 
tude, 

And as He waited there, so great the 
pain 

Of that barred Door, the old wounds 
bled again. 



4 "ALL CLEAR!" 

Yet was His mien right royal, and His 

eyes 
Shone as the stars shine in the unfath- 

omed skies 
Of God's vast distances. They pierced 

The Door, 
Saw all that passed within — and more ; 
Saw whither all this maddened coil was 

tending, — 
Saw the beginning — and saw too the 

ending, — 
Saw to the full the dread catastrophe 
That waited man, if, contumacious, he 
Persisted still in his gross perfidy. 

And . . . ever . . . ever. 
More and more 
Impassioned, yet all patiently^ 
The Silent Watcher stood without 
And knocked upon the close-barred 

Door, 
Stood ever waiting . . . waiting , . . 

waiting, 
Ever knocking on The Door, 

And no man let Him in. 

Has Life e'er known a sweeter, truer, 
Nobler, more devoted wooer, 
Or Love more loving a pursuer? 

Yet man would none of Him,! 



"ALL CLEAR!" 5 

Earth was a pit of endless miseries — 
Man strove with man, nation with nation 

strove, 
For little masteries of this and that, 
Which passed like bubbles on a moun- 
tain stream, 
And vanished like the fragments of a 
dream. 

Behind the Silent Watcher at The Door 
Lay all the vast ungauged infinities 
Of time and space — God's great eterni- 
ties. 
And there within, man plied his little 

will,— 
God's greatest gift — the freedom to fulfil 
His destiny, to choose 'twixt good and 

ill,— 
That made him lord and master of his 

fate, 
Free of the high and low, the small, the 
great. 

And all too oft that small self seeking will 
Turned the fair earth to hells of misery, 
Nor gave a thought to all that lay beyond. 
In the unfathomed vast of God's eternity. 



6 ''ALL CLEAR!" 

But here and there, at times, some loftier 
soul 

Unduly born into a heedless world, 

And with earth's self-made sorrows 
weighted sore, 

Would hear the knocking on The Outer 
Door, 

And cry his soul aloud, — "O deaf and 
blind ! 

Can ye not hear the knocking on the 
Door? 

Christ stands without and knocks. Give 
h€ed ! Give heed ! 

For your souls' sakes, give heed ! Un- 
bar The Door, 

Lest, weary grown, He pass upon His 
way 

And leave you to yourselves for ever- 
more !" 

But they, intent on their own ends, 

would cry, — 
"Nay, keep it barred ! There is not 

room on earth 
For Him and us. Our ways are not as 

His; 
We cannot live within His liberties." 

And some, — "Not yet ! Not yet ! First 

let us work 
Our own salvation out, and fit the world 



''ALL CLEAR r 7 

For His indwelling. Then will we give 

Him 
Welcome full. But now . . . 
How could He dwell in such a world as 

this? 
Wait till we lessen its disparities !" 

And everywhere was strife. The Church 

of Christ, 
Itself divided, strove within itself 
For things that control not, and gave 

small heed 
To Lif e'si deep open wounds and poignant 

needs, 
And with its Christless futile wrang- 

lings drowned 
The sound of that low knocking on The 

Door. 

And so the seething millions heeded not 
Its teachings so diverse, its clashing 

creeds, 
But sought in other ways to salve their 

woes. 
By baser means to satisfy their needs. 
And Christ was left bereft of those 
Whose sacred duty called them to oppose 
Life's growing evils and The Kingdom's 

foes. 

And . . . ever . . . ever 
More and more 



"ALL CLEAR!" 

Impassioned, yet all patiently. 
The Silent Watcher stood without 
And knocked upon the close-barred 

Door, 
Stood ever waiting . . . waiting . . . 

waiting, 
Ever knocking on the Door, 

And no man let Him in. 

Has Life e'er knowft a sweeter, truer, 
Nobler, more devested wooer, 
Or Love more loving a pursuer? 

Yet man would none of Him ! 



"ALL CLEAR!" 9 

Earth's ills waxed more and more; and 

still The Door, 
By which God's Mercy entrance sought, 

was barred. 
In the demonic storm and stress of life 
The soft persistent knocking was not 

heard. 
None rose to let The Consolator in, 
None thought of Him, none cared. 

Earth was convulsed with wars. The 
Kingdoms raged, 

Without, within, and strife was every- 
where. 

At times the turmoil broke with thun- 
drous roar, 

Like a great blast from hell, upon The 
Door, 

And shook it and the very walls of 
heaven. 

And He without stood patiently and 
knocked. 

And knocked . . . and knocked . . . 

But no man heard, and no man cared. 

And no man rose to let Him in. 

The world in torment groaned unceas- 
ingly,— 

One long unending cry of tortured 
souls, — 



10 "ALL CLEAR!" 

The panting sobs of men who fought 

for life, 
Women in anguish, children's wailing 

cries, 
Laughter of fools, and moans of dying 

men, 
All blent in one hoarse dirge of agony. 

For, even where no actual strife was 
waged. 

Where, here and there, the lands at 
times had peace, — 

Peace that but hatched the broods of 
further wars, — 

Yet even there black hidden warfare 
raged, 

Of fouler cast than where the hosts en- 
gaged. 

— Warfare of commerce girding men to 

nought. 
Bodies and souls but chattels to be bought 
And sold for profit — devil's marketing ! — 
Traffic of ghouls with endless evils 

fraught ; 

— Warfare of vast self-seeking enterprise, 
Which grew distent on other's miseries. 
Soul-less and thoughtless save for its 

own gain. 
Its ledgers foul with many a grim red 

stain : 



''ALL CLEAR!" II 

— Warfare of greed that stole the 

children's lives; 
Warfare of lust that naught could satisfy, 
Honour as dust, and women left to die; 

— Warfare of class with class, and 

rancorous hate 
That would all save itself annihilate. 

In all the cities, underneath the fair 
Outside presentment, lurked vast char- 

nel-caves 
Of poverty and evil and despair, — 
Black jungles where the wild beasts 

made their lair, 
And lay in wait, and prowled by night 
Their victims to ensnare. 

Even the countrysides bred evil things, — 
Dank miseries, oppressions, burdenings, 
Old as the hills, — the strong enbondaging 
The weak in helpless vassalage. 

Warfare of Evil everywhere with that 
Primordial Good, with which in plenti- 

tude 
God in creation His fair earth endued; 
But now, in place of His beatitude, — 
Eternal strife and fratricidal feud. 
Everywhere Evil fighting against Good. 

And, 'mid the storm-clouds of the upper 
air. 



12 "ALL CLEAR!" 

Great shadowy armies fought a ghostly 
fight, 

With crashing thunders, lightnings blast- 
ing bright, 

That whelmed the earth with their stu- 
pendous might, 

And left it quivering with despair, 

And sore affright. 

Earth was no longer earth as God 
designed ; 

Perverse and blind, the free-will of man- 
kind 

Had made it liker hell. And Faith and 
Hope 

Their draggled wings had spread. 

And, sorrowing, fled. 

Since Love, that should have ruled the 
world, 

Was dead. 

And . . . ever . . . ever 
More and more 
Impassioned, yet all pa\tiently. 
The Silent Watcher stood without 
And knocked upon the close-barred 

Door, 
Stood ever waiting . . . waiting . . . 

waiting, 
Ever knocking on the Door, 

And no man let Him in. 

Has Life e'er known a sweeter, truer. 
Nobler, more devoted wooer. 
Or Love more loving a pursuerf 

Yet man would none of Him ! 



"ALL CLEAR!" 13 

w. 

Then rose a man, 

God-reared, and God-inspired, — a simple 

man, 
Of lowly birth but full of holy fire, 
And cried, as cried the Messengers of old. 
And earth in her extremity gave heed ; — 

**Thus saith the Lord, — 

'I have desired you with a great desire, 
Yea, with desire that nought else could 

satisfy. 
With the rue of a mother bereft of her 

Urst-horn, 
With ihe ache of a father whose sons 

have gone from him. 
My heart has gone out to you> 
Reached for you, craved for you, . . . 
. . . And ye would not. 

Come back to Me now, O My children, 

My children! 
Far you have wandered and far I have 

followed you; 
Come to Me now, O My children, My 

children. 
And you shall find rest for your souls! ' ■" 
And from the earth went up a weary sigh> 



14 "ALL CLEAR!" 

"IVa, come! Lord, come! We die in 

misery !" 
" * / have called to you, called to you, 

called without ceasing; 
On the doors of your hearts I have 

knocked without ceasing; 
I have waited, and waited, with patience 

unfailing; 
I have called, and have called, and have 

never ceased calling; — 

And ye would not! 

Come back to Me now, O My sons and My 

daughters! 
Come to Me now with your burdens of 

sorrow! 
Come! — You are weary and heavily laden. 
And you shall find rest for your souis! ' " 

And from the earth went up a longing 

sigh ;— 
"Yea, come! Lord, come! Come quickly 

lest we die!" 

" ' How shall I come when the doors you 

have bolted f 
The doors of your hearts you have bolted 

against Me. 
How can I come when the bolts are 

against Me? 
The bolts are on your side the door, n&t 

on My side.' " 



"ALL CLEAR!" 15 

Then heard they Him, — and heeded, for 
their woes 

Had grown beyond their bearing, and 
their needs 

Passed their desires. 

Storms they had sown, and whirlwinds 
they had reaped, 

Sands they had ploughed, and garnered 
only dust; 

Their mouths were full of ashes — Dead- 
Sea fruit 

That turned within to gall and bitterness. 

Their buidling left a world with wreck- 
age fraught. 

Their vast self-strivings all had come 
to nought. 

Their own devices their own ruin 
wrought. 

"Unbar the Door!" — they cried, — "Un- 
bar the Door, 

And let the Lord Christ in! 

All other zvays have proved our own 
ways vain. 

His power alone can cleanse the zvorld 
of sin, 

His love alone can aiiM us peace again. 

Unbar the Door, and leit the Lard Christ 
in!'' 

And ever . . . ever . . . 
More and more 



16 "ALL CLEAR!" 

Impassioned^ yet all patiently, 
The eager Watcher stood without 
And knocked upon the close-barred 

Door, 
Stood ever waiting, . . . waiting . . . 

waiting. 
Ever knocking on the Door, 

But now man hearkened Him. 

Life never knew a sweeter, truer, 
Nobler, more devoted wooer. 
Nor Love more loving a pursuer, 
And now man craved for Him. 



'ALL CLEAR!" 17 



V. 



Then rose that man of God, and cried, — 
"Repent ye of your sins ! Repent! Repent! 
I will unbar the door and let Him in, 
His love alone can cleanse the world of 
sin." 

But some there were still obdurate, who 

strove 
To stay His purposing, and when, 
Aflame with zeal, he pressed toward The 

Door, 
Aflame with rage, they thrust upon him 

sore. 

He reached The Door; — with his last 

breath he drew 
The rusted bolts, then fell beneath their 

blows ; 
And, as The Door swung wide, the 

heavenly light 
Fell first on him who died to let it in. 

He lay there dead, below The Opened 

Door; 
But on his eager happy face was look 
Of high content that he — unworthy he — 
Had been found worthy to be spent 
On such supreme accomplishment. 



18 "ALL CLEAR!" 

And those who slew him, full of bitter- 
ness, 

Strove hard to close again the Opening 
Door; 

But others, all ablaze with that same fire 

Which first flamed up within the man 
of God, 

Rose quick to follow in the steps he 
trod. 

Eager to give themselves, their lives, 
their all, 

To satisfy Life's soul-compelling call. 

So there was strife again, but this time 

strife 
'Twixt Good and 111 — yea, for Life's very 

life- 
Strife to the death 'twixt that new sense 

of Right 
And the old evil power of Godless Might, 

The strife waxed sore, and sorer thar 

before, 
And Christ stood watching through the 

Opened Door, — 
Watching and praying .... 

And His prayers availed. 
Great hosts of angels hovered o'er the 

fight 
And heartened those who fought that 

fight for Right, 
That they prevailed.. 



*'ALL CLEAR!" 19 

Long, long and bitter was that final strife, 
Till Life was smitten to the verge of 

death. 
But, by God's mercy, Life won through 

at last, 
The hosts of 111 were smitten hip and 

thigh, 
And Earth thanked God for its delivery. 

And so at last the long-closed Door 

stood wide, 
And none gainsayed it now, and none 

denied 
Christ's right of entrance with the 

Sweeter Life 
Which meant an end for ever to all strife. 



20 "ALL CLEAR r 

m. 

The Door swung wide, and wider, wider 

grew, 
Till like the dawn it spread across the 

sky; 
Great seas of new life-giving light 

welled through, 
And spread o'er all the earth su quick- 
ening flood, — 
Healing and life for all earth's deadly 

woes, 
That larger Life that Love alone 

bestows — 
Life out of death for all the sons of men, 
For in the Light Christ came to earth 

again. 
His white-robed heralds of the New- 

Born Day 
Like silver clarions sounded far and near 
The thrilling joyaunce of His great "All 

clear !" 
And, as on that firt morn, they chanted 

— "Peace! 
Peace upon earth! — to men of good-will. 

Peace!" 
For in that word was pledge of man's 

release, — 
"Peace upon earth! — to men of g^ood-will 

Peace!" 
Into each darkest corner of the earth 



"ALL CLEAR!" 21 

Streamed those great beams of sweet 

light-giving light, 
Shrivelling all foulness that it sank and 

died, 
And went back to its native elements 
To be re-made for good. And so, at last^ 
Earth was all clean for Him to build upon. 

Then rang the heavens, and earth re- 
sponsive rang. 
With the glad songs the joyous heralds 
sang,— 

Glory to God! 

Glory to God! 

Glory to God in the highest! 

And on earth — Peace! 

Peac^e upon earth! 

Peace upon earth? 

To men of good-will — Peace! 

Peace upon earth! 
To Life — new birth! 
To all men — Peace! 
To all — release! 
Gone all the bonds that burdened 
Life before! 
Christ has passed through the newiy- 
opened Door! 

We thank Thee^ Lord, that of Thy 

boundless grace. 
Mankind has turned at last ''to seek Thy 

facer 



22 "ALL CLEAR!" 

Turned from himself, and of his own 

free-will 
Seeks now Thy loving^ purpose to fulUl. 
For this Thy boundless grace we thank 
Thee, Lord! 

We thank Thee, thank Thee, 
Thank Thee, Lord! 

We thank Thee, Lord, that of Thy 

boundless love 
Mankind Thy boundless tenderness may 

prove. 
May share with us the joyousness above. 
Where love is life, and life eternal love. 
For this Thy boundless love we thank 

Thee, Lord! 

We thank Thee, thank Thee, 
Thank Thee, Lord! 

We thank Thee, Lord, for this Thy gift 

of Peace. 
Let all the world build now to Thine 

increase. 
Build as mankind has never built before. 
And in Thy serince grow from m,ore to 

more. 
For this Thy Gift of Peace we thank 

Thee, Lord! 

We thank Thee, thank Thee, 
Thank Thee, Lord!" 
And others jubilantly sang, 
While heaven and earth responsive 

rang;— 



"ALL CLEAR!" 23 

"Hear the glad tidings^ all ye sons 

of men, — 
Christ ito His own with joy is come 

again ! 

Hear the glad tidings of the Prince 

of Peace! 
Hear the glad tidings of the world's 

release! 
Hear the glad tidings of the New- 

Born Peace! 
Peace upon earth! 
To men of g^ood-wUl — Peace! 

Tell it, ye heavens of heavens, ye 

worlds on high, — 
'The Lord has come all life to 

glorify.' 
Earth's myriad voices thunder in 

reply, 
'The Lord has come. We laud and 

magnify.' 

Hear the glad tidings in all lands, 
all men, — 

'The PHnce of Peace is come to 
earth again!' 

Hear the glad news, let all your 
strivings cease, — 

'Peace upon earth, — to men of good- 
will, Peace!' 

Tell it, ye mountains, towering 'to 
the skies, 



24 "ALL CLEAR!" 

Peak tell to peak your joyous ecsta- 
sies,— 

'The Prince of Peace in triumph 
comes agaifiy 

To dwell for ever with the sons of 
men.' 

Tell itr y€ winds; on your great 

pinions hear 
The wondrous 'tidings through the 

waiting air, — 
'Christ to His ozvn with joy is come 

again, 
To found His Kingdom in the hearts 

of men.' 

Tell it, ye worlds that swing in outer 

space, 
Sun, moon, and stars, each in his 

proper place; 
Tell it, ye rivers rushing 4 o the seas ; 
Tell it, ye seas, through all your 

liberties; 
Tell it, and tell, and tell it yet 

again, — 
'The Christ of God lives with the 

sons of men.' " 

And this son too the heralds sang, 
While many a heart responsive rang; — 
"How many. Lord, have died 
To clear^ the cumbered ways. 
To set the Closed Door wide. 



"ALL CLEAR 25 

To free the future days. 
To set the Closed Door wide. 
To give Thee entrance free, 
Right willingly they died. 
Right glad they live with Thee. 
Right willingly they diedy 
Right joyfully they live, 
For ever by Thy side, 
Since Thou dost honour give 

To all who died for Thee, 
To clear the cumhef^d ways. 
To give Thee entrance free. 
To build the future days. 

Praise be to God for all 
The lives so greatly given! 
No soul of all who met the Call 
But lives with Thee in heaven." 
And all in mighty chorus sang, 
While heaven and earth responsive 
rang,— 
All Clear! All Clear! 
The evil days are gone. 
The Prince of Peace is here 
To claim His Throne. 
All Clear! Alt Clear! 
The evil days are gone. 

His Throne is in 
The hearts of all who will 
Cast out their dearest sin 
And Love fulfil. 



2^ "ALL CLEAR!" 

All Clear! All Clear! 
The cumbered ways aire free 
For man to bidld, as God hath 

willed. 
His sovereignty. 

All Clear! All Clear! 

Lord, build Thy sovereignty. 
His sovereignty 

Knows naught of time or space. 
It spreads through all infinity 
As does His grace. 

All Clear! All Clear! 
Build now His Temple fair, 
With Love alone as corner-stone. 
And faithful care! 

All Clear! All Clear! 

Build now His Temple fair! 

His Temple fair 

Is in the sons of men. 

And that ye are; 

The Christ is come again. 

All Clear! All Clear! All Clear! 

The Christ is come again. 

To build with caire His Temple fair 

Among the sons of men. 

All Clear! All Clear! All Clear! 

We thank Thee, O our God, 
For this Thy Gift of Peace! 
Our hearts we raise in fervid praise 
Praise that shall never cease. 



"ALL CLEAR!" 27 

So Christ came back again. 

But not as suppliant now ; 

With power He came, His own to claim 

His gracious promise to maintain, 

As King Omnipotent to reign 

Within the hearts of men ; — 

As Lord Supreme of Death and Life, 

As peaceful victor in the strife, 

He came. 

He came, amid the world's acclaim, 

To found His kingdom upon earth, 

To give to Life a nobler birth, 

And heal it of its shame. 

No gladder face was ever seen than His, 
So full of grace and all high sovereignties, 
And all aglow with sweet benignities. 

His love-lit eyes shone like the great 

twin stars, 
And on His brow which once had worn, 
With patient dignity, the thorn. 
Was now a radiant crown of stars, 
Which hid and healed the bitter scars 
Made by the crown of scorn. 

His robe was brighter than the noon- 
day sun, 
And in His hand He bore a holy grail, 
Clear crystal, brimmed with bkssings 
infinite, — 



28 ''ALL CLEAR!" 

Pardon and grace for all who would. 
And benedictions sweet. . . . 

And as He came, His eager foot fell 

first 
Upon the body of His harbinger, 
Low-fallen there below The Opened 

Door. 
He looked upon the high, enraptured face. 
So full content at being so well spent, 
Then stooped, and raised Him with His 

strong, right hand. 
And kissed Him on the brow, and drew 

him close, 
His first sweet deodand. 

"Well done, Well done! My good and 

faithful one! 
You gave your life to see the work begun. 
Come now zvith Me and see it fully 

done!" 

And, side by side, their faces all alight. 
Their eyes clear-shining like the stars 

of night, 
Hand clasping hand, they passed along 

the light. 

And, as they went. 

The Master said. 

In tones so penetrant and clear 

That every soul on earth could hear; — 



''ALL CLEAR!" 29 

'"Come unto Me, all you heavily bur- 
dened ones! 

Come unto Me, all you weary ones, come! 

The home is all waiting that I have pre- 
pared for you, 

All through the years while I waited 
and cared for you. 

And noiif I am waiting to welcome you 
home. 

Come to Me! Come to Me! Come to 
Me! Come! 
And you shall find rest for your souls! 

Have I not borne greater burdens of 
sorrow f 

HaiJe ii not known what it was to be 
lonely f 

Lean on Me now for to-day and to- 
morrow, 

Tru^t in Me wholly, and trust in Me 
only ! — 
And you shall find rest for your souls ! 

Here for your sorrow is healing and 

gladness. 
Give me your burden, and take you 

another's. 
So shall you rid you of all your own 

sadness. 
Healing your ouin wound by healing your 

brother's, 
And you shall find rest for your souls !" 



30 ''ALL CLEAR!" 

Then was the earth made anew where'er 
He went, 

For all men's hearts were opened to the 
Light, 

And Christ was King, and Lord Om- 
nipotent. 

Before Him swept that flood of radiant 

light. 
Of rarest hues all blent to purest white, 
Probing each hole and corner where the 

dark 
Still clung, — routing the miasms as the 

sun 
Dispels the morning mists, and cleansing 

earth 

Of her impurities. 

And everywhere men's hearts turned 
unto Him 

As to the very source and fount of 
Right, 

As flowers turn to the sun, and every- 
where 

New Life sprang up to greet Him as 
He went 

Dispensing grace to all men everywhere. 

And His dispensed grace changed all 
men's hearts. 



"ALL CLEAR!" 31 

Made His will theirs, and their wills 
wholly His ; 

So that they strove no more each for 
himself, 

But each for good of all, and all for Him, 

Man's common aim was for the com- 
mon good; 

The age-old feuds were of the past, 

And all mankind joined hands at last 

In common brotherhood. 

The city jungles withered in the Light, 
And in their places rose fit homes for men. 
Where children no more died like 

autumn flies, 
And there was room for all, and spa- 
cious life. 

The smiling country-side no longer 
served 

The favoured few, but bore their treas- 
ure-stores 

For all who chose, and golden harvest 
gave 

Of health, and wealth, and happiness 
for all, 

And all good cheer. 

The old waste places blossomed as the 

rose, 
And earth bore plenteously for all men's 

needs ; 



32 ''ALL CLEAR!" 

Life's crooked things were all at last 

made straight, 
And the rough places plain. 
For Christ, the Lord, the Advocate 
With God for man degenerate, 
Had stripped Him of His high estate, 
And, filled with love impassionate. 
In mercy great had come again 
To dwell among the sons of men. 

And every man in all the whole wide 

world 
Had room, and time, and wherewithal 

to live 
His life at fullest full within the Law — 
The Law that has no bounds or bonds 

for those 
Who live it, for it is His Love, — 
The great unchanged, unchanging, and 

unchangeable 
Law. whose beginning and whose end is 

— Love. 

As it was in the beginning,, 
Is now, and ever shall be, 
World without end. — Amen! 

Gloria Patri, et FiUo, et Spiritui 

Sancta, 
Sicut erat in principio, et nunc, et 

semper, 
Et in saecula saeculorum. Amen! 



"ALL CLEAR r 33 

H Xtttle Book ot Common praise 

With hearts responsive and enfranchised 

eyes, 
We thank Thee Lord, for all Thy ministries; 
Our ceaseless thanks Thy ceasekss gifts 

acclaim, 
Yet ceaseless praise is nobler incense flame. 

So, unto Thee let every earthly thing 
Perpetual, pure, impassioned praises sing ! 
To Thee eternal praise be given 
By every creature Thou hast made 
In earth and heaven ! — 
And by mankind. Creation's last and best, 
Whose praise is still not equal to the rest. 
For man accepts, as of his right, the things 
Which Nature all spontaneous lauds and 

sings. 
And though he render thanks. 
Yet — Praise 
To Thee 
Is still the nobler ecstasy. 

Praise be to God 

For all His wondrous ways, 

For all the splendour of His hidden ways. 

For all the tender thoughtfulness, and grace, 



34 "ALL CLEAR!" 

Which suffers our vast waywardness 
And yet prolongs our days! 

To Him for all things — Praise! 
To Him from all things — Praise! 
To Him in all thing^s — Praise! 



"ALL CLEAR!" 35 

In all the nights be praise! 
In all the days! 

In sun and moon and stars be praise! 

In all the vast infinitudes of heaven, — 

In all the earth to its remotest end, — 

In worlds beyond as yet by man unk^nned, — 

Praise in the morning stars 

Which sing together still, as on that dawn 

When first the curtains of the night were 

drawn ! 
Praise in the sun, the fair life-giving sun. 
Rejoicing his triumphant course to run! 
Praise in the moon's white rapture of delight, 
Vesting the darkness with a mystic rite! 
In all Thy countless firmaments be praise! — 
In all Thy vast infinitudes of space; — 
In all Thy gleaming jewels of the night, 
Spread like a royal casket to our sight; — 
In every world that Thou hast made, be 

Praise ! — 

Still sweeter Praise! 
Praise without ceasing! 
Without ending — Praise! 

In all the days be praise! — 

In those sweet vital days of quickening life. 



36 "ALL CLEAR!" 

Which cheer hearts weary with the winter's 

strife; — 
In those wide days of Nature's graciousness, 
Which brim our hearts with joyous thank- 
fulness ; — 
In those soft days declining to the fall, 
When careful Nature plays the prodigal; — 
Yea, and in wintry days that give azest 
To homely joys, while Nature takes her 

rest ; — 
In days of sun, when Nature's heart is 

glad ;— 
In days of gloom, when Nature's face is 

sad; — 
Each its own part in Thy intention plays, 
Each unto Thee doth render joyful praise, — 

Praise without ceasing! 
Without ending — Praise ! 

In nights no death-blast smites, — in peaceful 
days, 

Be Praise! 

And in that Greater Peace which shall bind 

all 
The peoples in a Peace Perpetual, 

Still greater Praise! — 
Praise wiihout ceasing! 
Without ending — Praise! 



"ALL CLEAR!" Z7 

In aught that Life has learned from Death 

through strife; 
In the new cravmgs for the Larger Life; 
In quickened hearts; in wider-visioned 

thought ; 
In all Life's gains, so sadly, dearly bought, 

Be Praise! 

And in Thy many mercies in the days 

We now look back on with such dire amaze, 

When, but for Thy support most evident. 

We had been broken in the grim red ways. 

And to no purpose spent ; 

In Thy deliverances in those dread days, — 

Praise without ceasing! 

Without ending — Praise! 



The Great Procession of \the Days 

Seeps on and on; 

By upward ways, by downward ways, 

By ways that fill us with amaze. 

But ever on. 

They bring us good; they bring us ill; 

We know not zvhat; they are Thy will, 

As they sweep on. 

But [this we know, the day will come 
When we shall meet Thy "Welcome 
Home!" 



38 "ALL CLEAR r 

Then, on and on^ 

The long\ day of eternity 

Will Wing us ever nearer Thee, 

So we press on. 

We thank Thee for the changing days. 
Each bringing something new;' 
For Life would prove a weary round 
If on its face no change were found. 
If it no variant knew. 

The very sun would he a blight 

If he perpetual shone; 

And so we tJmnk Thee for the night, 

That brings to life a brief respite 

And strength for the unknown. 

The days and nights Thy good gifts are. 
Help us to make of them. Dear Lord, 
A holy calendar! 



"ALL CLEAR r 39 

In all Thy Heavens of Heavens be Praise! 
And as in Heaven, so on earth he Praise! 

Praise without ceasing! 
Without ending — Praise! 

In all the high angelic hosts be Praise, — 
Thy holy ones, begotten, not create. 
Untouched of earth, all pure, immaculate, 
Who served Thee then when on the waters' 

face 
Thy Spirit brooded, ere Thy love did chase 
The Shadows of the black preordial night. 
And with a word called out of darkness 

Light. 
These render praise beyond all earthly 

powers, 

Praise zvithoui ceasing! 
Without ending — Praise! 

In all Thy chosen from the sons of men, 
Who bore without a stain their mortal 

chain, — 
Thy Saints on whose pure souls earth beat 
in vain, 

High Praise! 



40 "ALL CLEAR r 

Yet sweeter unto Thee the praise of those 
Thy Love redeemed from earth's abysmal 

woes, 
Who in their depths have drunk the reeper 

cup, 
And by Thy Love have been more lifted up. 
Through clouds and darkness they discerned 

Thy face, 
Theirs the full measure of redeeming grace. 
These have known death that they the more 

might live, 
And they who most receive, the most shall 

give. 
So, from thci souls from sin redeemed, shall 

rise, 
Beyond all others sweets of sacrifice. 
Incense of Praise Thou most of all wilt 

prize. 

So, in Thy Havens of Heavens — eternal 

Praise ! 
Yet in the souls from sin redeemed, 

Still sweeter Praise! 
Praise without ceasing! 
Without ending — Praise! 



"ALL CLEAR!" 41 

H)e protunMs 

Out of the depths 
To Thee, O Lord, I ciried, 
And Thou my pressing need 
Hast ne'er denied. 

Thy hand reached domn. 
The sftrong right hand of Love, 
And lifted me right up 
My cares above. 

Had I not been 
Sunk in the depths of woe, 
I ne'er had known how much 
To Thee I owe. 

And so, although 
The depths were very sore. 
Through them I know Thee more 
Than e'er before. 

Out of the depths 
My soul can rise to God, 
Since He who died for me 
This same way trod. 

So, for the depths 
I still will grateful be, 
Sinde they made known to me 
Thy Charity. 



42 "ALL CLEAR!' 

In all Th"^ Temples — Praise! 



Praise without ceasing! 
Without ending — Praise! 



— In these the living temples of Thy grace, 
Wherein we dwell for such a little space, 
Yet each is planned with all-unequalled skill 
Its well-appointed duties to fulfil. 
And, though the lease be short, yet each 

one is 
A marvel of divinest mysteries. 



Praise in each heart-beat, every pulse and 

breath 
That speeds our journeying 'twixt birth and 

death !— 
From its first launching to its final port, 
However long, the voyage is but short. 

In that within us which derives from Thee, 
And through all earth's distractions bids us 

grope 
Upwards and onwards towards the mighty 

hope 



"ALL CLEAR r 43 

Of Immortality, be Praise ! 

Praise without ceasing! 
Without ending — Praise! 

Praise in their proper functioning of all 
These wondrous powers that answer to my 

call! 
— In mind alert, and opened eye and ear 
That love to seek and find Thee everywhere! 
Praise in the marvels of this mortal frame, 
Which Thy supreme and loving skill pro- 
claim ! 

— In healty mind in healthy body shrined, 
Each serving each, as wisdom first designed! 

Praise in the balanced working of the 

brain, — 
The Master — failing whom all else is vain ! 
Praise, Lord, — and of Thy grace and mercy 

deign 
The Master in His empire to maintain! 

Praise in the joyous sense of sight and 

sound, 
With their vast widening of perception's 

bound ! 
And praise in added senses given when these 
Grow fainter with life's long activities! 



44 "ALL CLEAR r 

In touch, and taste, and smell, that serve so 

well 
The dweller in this narrow citadel, 

Be Praise! 

Praise in sleep's sweet renewal of life's 

waste ! 
Praise in the waking to life's conflict braced ! 

In that new eagerness for ampler life, 
For which men fought so long and valiantly; 
In all the soul's unpreaching after Thee; 
In Life's instinctive struggle to be free 
From all the prisonings that bowed and bent 
And barred it of its full accomplishment 

Be Praise! 

Praise in man's strength, in woman's beauty — 
Praise ! 

— In every child's unspoiled, spontaneous 
grace ! 

— In Love's sweet tendrils graciously en- 
twined 

With love responsive, heart and soul and 
mind! 

Let every meanest member of my frame 

Sing endless praises to its Maker's name ! 

Yet none is mean that bears the Master's 
seal, 

Since all alike His perfect skill reveal. 



"ALL CLEAR!" 45 

lit all the living Temples of Thy grac^ 
Be Praise! 

Praise without ceasing! 
Withoii t ending — Praise ! 



What is man that Thou should'st mind 

him? 
— The son of man that Thou should'st 

visit him? 
In Thine own likeness^ Lord, 
Thy tender love designed him, 
And was it not Thy word 
That wrought the wonders of his frame, 
And breathed in him the living flame 
Of Thine own spirit? 

— Didst hid him stand and walk upright, 
Head to the heavens as in Thy sight; 
— And of Thy magnanimity 
Didst Thine omnipotence curtail 
To crown him with free-will, — 
The power to choose the great or small, 
The high or low, the good or ill. 
And sadly, sadly has he used 
That gift, and Thy great trust abused. 
No more he follows Thy behest. 
Nor sets Thee first, nor gives Thee best; 
But g,oes his own way down the s^teep, 
His self-sozvn harvesting to reap. 



46 "ALL CLEAR r 

And yet, ivithout free-will, he were 
But slave, and no more son and h^ir. 
And so we thank Thee for Thy grace, 
And pray Thee bear with us a space.' 



"ALL CLEAR!" 47 

D. 

In Service — Praise! 

Praise without ceasing' 
Without ending — Praise! 

In every noble self-denying deed, 
Which none but Thou perchance dost see or 
heed, 

High Praise indeed! 

In all who came back from the gates of 
death, — 

Praise without ceasing! 
" Without ending — Praise! 

For all who came back from the gates of 
death — 

Praise without ceasing! 
Without ending — Praise! 

For all ho, nobly striving, nobly fell, — 
Praise without ceasing! 
Without ending — Praise! 

For all who, nobly strving, nobly fell, — 
Praise without ceasing! 
Without ending — Praise! 



48 "ALL CLEAR!" 

Praise in the souls of heroes, ranging free 

The glorious High Ways of Eternity ! 

Praise in the valiance which their souls sus- 
tained ! 

Praise in the well-won rest they have at- 
tained ! 

Praise in the goodly work and steadfast 
heart 

Of those at home who bore an equal part! 

Praise in the widening spirit of the days, 

Which everywhere new-quickening life dis- 
plays 1 

In all who serve their country in its need, 
Nor let a thought of self or aught impede 
Their service — 

Praise indeed! 
And yet, in all who set Thee first, above 
All other — country, self, and life, and love. 

Still higher Praise! 
For these kin Thy fidelities. 

— In all who serve the sick, the maimed, the 

poor, 
Tn lowly ways — the Openers of the Door 
To sweeter life for any of their kind — 

High Praise ! 
For in their work we find 
Likeness to Thee and Thy sweet charity. 



"ALL CLEAR!" 49 

In lives devoted to the Outer Night, 
Knights of the Cross in their unending 

fight,- 
In ail Torch-Bearers, carrying the Light 
To souls benighted, — to the blind new sight, — 

High Praise indeed ! 
Thou only knowest all the crushing load 
They bear who live to bring man back to 

God; 
In all such lives, with pure white fire 
ablaze, — 

Praise Tmthout ceasing! 
Without ending — Praise! 

— In all the humbler ministries 

Of hearth and home, of field and fold and 

farm, 
Of desk and shop, of mine and factory! 
— In all life's daily* rounds, on land and sea, 
And in the air — be Praise! 
For all. 

Done unto Thee, are answer to Thy Call, 
And all 
In equal measure are heroical. 

In all true service — Praise! 

Praise without ceasing! 

Without ending — Praise ! 



50 "ALL CLEAR!' 



*<ll Serve !'* 



"I serve!" 

And though /j do no more than keep the 

road, 
And here and ihere help one to bear his 
load, — 

"I serve!" 

"I serve!" 

As He once served in lowliest estate, 
I seek no more than Him to emulate, — 

"I serve!" 

"I serve!" 

And while my best to His concern I 

g'^ve, 
No higher honour mine, the while I live. 

"I serve!" 

"I serve!" 

And when, my little service done^ I di^, 
On hope of greater service I rely. 

"I serve!" 



'ALL CLEAR!" 51 



IDl. 



In all fair rvaters — Praise! 



Praise without ceasing! 
Without ending — Praise! 



In running waters — Praise! 

Praise in the babbling brook that laughs 

between 
Green rushy banks and meadows' golden 

sheen ! 
Praise in the stream's onrushing, blithe and 

free! 
— In mighty rivers sweeping to the sea ! 
Praise in the great fall's diapason roar! 
Praise in the incense-mist that hovers o'er! 
Praise in the billows thundering on the 

shore ! 
Praise in the spume of their tumultuous 

power ! 
Praise in the little waves laughing in their 

glee, 
Dancing, glancing, merrily, full of ecstasy! 
Praise in the deep still pool fringed round 

with fern! 
In smiling lake, in lonely mountain tarn! 
Praise in the falling rain, in morning mist! 



52 "ALL CLEAR!" 

Praise in the dewdrops by Thy love-light 

kissed ! 
In all fair waters — 

Praise ! 

Praise without ceasing! 
Without ending — Praise! 
****** 

For the River of God flows full and free. 
Through the hanks of Time to the boundless 

sea, 
That is Love indwelling Eternity. 

And the trees that are planted by the River, 
They drink of the springs supernal; 
In wonderful estate they grow, 
Their leaves no withering ever know, 
And to 'their infinite delight 
Their fruit is sempiternal. 



'ALL CLEAR!" 53 



Mir- 



In all things growing — Praise! 

Praise without ceasing! 
Without ending — Praise ! 

— In every grass-blade's tiny tilted spear, 
No two alike in all the mighty sphere ! 

— In every daisy jewelling the mead! — 
In every tiniest, humble, wayside weed ! — 
No lowliest thing that germs, and springs, 

and grows, 
But at His best the Master-Craftsman shows. 

Praise in the springing wheat, green-flushing 

earth 
With the sweet promise of perennial birth ! 
Praise in the corn, gold-ripening in the ear. 
To glad the world with certainty of cheer! 

Praise in the green earth made each day 

anew! 
Praise in the meadow pearled with morning 

dew, — 
Each feathered head of grass a mystic grace 
All unsurpassed in perfect comeliness ! 



54 "ALL CLEAR!" 

Praise in the chestnut's myriad tiny spires! 
Praise in the gorse's never-dying fires! 
Praise in the branching elm and spreading 

oak! 
Praise in Queen Birch's graceful swinging 

cloak ! 



Praise in the poplar's lofty swaying plume! 
Praise in the violet's modest-smiling bloom ! 
Praise in the lily's rapture of delight, 
No queen ori earth more sumptuously dight ! 

Praise in the rose's glad exuberance ! 
Praise in the sunflower's wild extravagance! 

) 
Praise in the heather's bravely-blushing bells. 
Ringing their soundless chimes o'er moors and 

fells ! 
Praise in each quickening bud that grows 

and swells, 
And bursts its swaddling-bands at last and 

stands 
One more sweet marvel from the Master's 

hands ! 

Praise in the aspen's softly-whispering leaves ? 
— In the red creeper climbing to the eaves, 
Its tiny fingers clutching tight the wall 
With clasp unconsciously hermetical ! 



"ALL CLEAR!" 55 

Praise in the swinging cups of all sweet 
flowers, 

Flinging their incense to the summer show- 
ers ! 

Praise in the great woods' russet, amber, 

gold! 
Praise in the green shoots pushing through 

the mould! 
Praise in the Autumn moors that blaze and 

burn! 
— And in the tight-clasped, curly-wrinkled 

fingers 
Of the new-born baby fern! 

Praise in the wandering smoke of swaling- 

fires, 
That wreathe the hill-sides where the funeral- 
pyres 
Of waste make ready for the better things, 
Plowings and planting and rich harvestings ! 
Praise in the glorious riot of the Spring, 
When Nature, after her long prisoning. 
Flings off her bonds, and gaily bourgeoning, 
Calls all the earth to laugh and dance and 
sing! 

And Praise 

In the stark beauty of the naked trees, 
Sharp etched in ebon on the winter sky ! — 
All bare and beautiful, — so consciously 



56 "ALL CLEAR!" 

Assertive in their witching comeliness, — 
So unabashed in their sweet nakedness, — 
So chaste in their rare symmetry and grace, 
They fairer seem than in their summer dress ! 

And still more beauteous when Thy magic 

breath 
Vests every twig in soft white furry sheath, 
Sparkling like frosted silver in the sun, 
And gleaming cold as steel beneath the moon. 

These all, in tJieir own sweet peculiar ways. 
Render their Maker sweet spontaneous 
praise J — 

Praise without ceasing! 
Without ending — Praise! 



One of the first things God made was a garden, 
And He loiMd it exceedingly. 
He planned it ivith care and made it all fair, 
So that those zvhom He loved all His pleasure 

might share, 
And liJonderful szveet was His garden. 

And He loved to walk in His garden, 

In the cool when the shadows fell, 

When the daylight was gone and 'there, all 

aloney 
He could ponder the things that were still to 

be done. 
As He walked in the cool of His garden. 



"ALL CLEAR!" 57 

And the Lord still walks in His garden. 

But at times He is sad of heart, 

For, in spite of His care, things aire not as 

they were. 
And not as He hoped when He made it so 

fair. 
Yet He loves to he there in the cool of the 

dr. 
And He does not despair of His garden. 



58 ALL CLEAR!' 



Dim IF- 



Praise in Thy skies! 

In all Thy wondrous atmospheres — 

Praise without ceasing! 
Without ending — Praise! 



— In that unfathomable blue, that seems 
Fit dwelling-place for Thine Infinity; 

— In those great snow bergs of white-piled 

cloud 
That float serene athwart the lazure deeps, 
Majestic argosies that bear within 
Their magic holds rich 'freights of fantasy — 
Visions and dreams that sweep the soul 

along 
To realms where Life is ever young and 

strong, 
And Time a bright Spring day 

— In those stupendous crests of virgin snow 
Which dwarf earth's noblest peaks to little 

things. 
Mountains of God, all inaccessible. 
Save to the spirit with its eagle-wings! 



"ALL CLEAR!" 5^ 

Praise in those lucent seas of swimming 

gold,— 
Of blues and greens so rarely soft and sweet, 
Earth cannot match their hues attenuate; 
Where purple, gold-rimmed island float, and 

set 
The soul aglow with longings to be free; 
Where golden seas brim on a golden shore, 
And creep, and creep, and win it more and 

more; 
And little creeks appear and disappear. 
And great lagoons swim softly in the light. 
Till the soul swells with rapture of delight, 
And longs to loose its moorings and away 
In glorious flight to the eternal day! 



Praise in the soft-winged clouds that greet 

the dawn 
With matin-chants none but the angels hear. 
And wave their farewells to the setting sun, 
While earth in silence strains to catch the 

tune 
Of their sweet evensong! 
Praise in the boiling fury of the. storm. 
Black-robed, and lightining-shot. and thrid 

with lace 
Of streaming rains that flush the foul earth 

clean, 

While crashing thunders clear the sullen 
skies ! 



60 "ALL CLEAR!" 

Praise in the pale gray glamour of the mist, 

Diaphanous, inscrutable, wet-kissed, 

Which rings one round with all the mysteries 

Of vast invisible infinities 

And all the unknown possibilities! 

In all the glories that Thy sky dis plays > — 
In all Thy wondrous atmospheres, he Praise! 

Praise without ceasing! 

With out ending — Praise ! 



Free . . . free . . . free would I he 
To soar to the ix^onders of wonders I see 
In the heights of Thy radiant 'tranquillity, — 
Free from the ties and the trammels of 

things, 
Free to companion my soul when it sings, 
As it wings its glad way to 'the portal of day 
And the end and heginning of journeyings. 

Free from the bonds of the years of captivity, 
Ablaze zvith the joy of this new-horn ac- 
tivity, 
Juhilan't strong, in its latest ndtivity. 
High . . . high . . . high would I fly, 
•Through the heights and the depths of the 

hlu\e summer sky 
To the transcendant joys of infinity! 



"ALL CLEAR r 61 

/ would swim in those oceans of shimmering 
gold, 

I would hash on the beaches their soft arms 
enfold, 

I would zi'ander at will on the purple-gold 
isles, 

I would climb through the caves of the wild- 
tumbled piles, 

I would dream on the chores of the chang- 
ing lagoons 

Where time is unknown and where nought 
importunes, 

I would rest on the breast of yon high snowy 
crest. 

When the wonders of Paradise flame in the 
west. 

And the earth and the heavens with their 
glories invest. 

I would Hy to the Light . . . to the Light 

. . . io the Light, 
And for ever be free from the scathe of the 

nighty — 
Lord, gift me with wings when my time 

comes to go. 
And straight will I come as a shaft from the 

bow. 



62 "ALL CLEAR!' 



IX* 



In all bird voices — Praise! 

Praise without ceasing! 
Without ending — Praise! 



Praise in the song of every sweet-voiced 

bird, 
Nor truer praise has God or man e'er heard; 
As all spontaneously it breaks and swells, 
The singer's thanks it all unconscious tells. 



— In every flute-throat perched on top-most 

bough, 
Singing his matins or his evensong! 
— In every anxious follower of the plough, 
Seeking a meal the new-tuned clods among! 



Praise in the swelling raptures of the lark, 
Thrilling the heavens with carols past all 

art, 
Each ringing note a white-hot silver spark 
Struck from the passion of a bursting heart! 



"ALL CLEAR!" 63 

Praise in the sanguine robin as he comes, 
In faith and works robust and boundless 

trust, 
Across the snows to claim his dole of 

crumbs ! 

Praise in the swallow's whistle, clear and 

shrill, 
As, like a shuttle of blue burnished steel, 
Hither and thither in the waning light, 
He darts, and dives, and weaves his mazy- 
flight ! 

Praise in the speckled thrush whose tuneful 

note, 
Through constant repetition learned by rote, 
Pours in a flood from swelling heart and 

throat ! 

Praise in the blackbird's long melodious 

tale, 
When, with the endless wonders of his 

scale, 
His roosting neighbours he doth still regale 
With songs of love that time can never stale ! 

Praise in the starling's chatter, blithe and 

gay, 
As, in the quest his hunger to allay, 
He thrusts himself with zeal into the fray. 
Nor sufrers ought his ardour to dismay! 



64 ''ALL CLEAR!" 

Praise in the sweet low warbles of the night, 
Whose mystic rite is love's supreme delight! 



Praise in the sweet-sweet-sweet small twit- 
tering voice 

Of the humbler folk whose hearts rejoice; 

Whose wooings, matings, buildings for the 
brood, 

Tell their full thanks for Thy good father- 
hood! 



These all, in their own sweet spontaneous 

ways, 
Render their thanks in never-ending praise. 



Even the cuckoo, child of Ishmael, 

With but two notes and no place where to 

dwell, 
Still does his best his grateful thanks to tell. 



And the lone owl. within the dim dark wood. 
Peals out his gratitude for nightly food. 



The eagle screams fierce thanks above her 

nest 
Of eaglets cradled on the mountain's crest 



"ALL CLEAR!" 65 

The solemn crow, with hoarse discordant 

voice, 
Tells to the world his own peculiar joys. 



Harsh voices these, but He Who gave them 

knows 
That each its owner's gratitude displays 
As truly as the others' sweeter lays, 
And through the harshness He discerns the 

praise; 
And so — in all bird-voices — Praise ! 

Praise w^lthout ceasing! 
Without ending — Praise! 



The zvonderful trust of a hifdling! — 

So full and so free! 

For what does it know? — Not the small- 
est thing 

Save its own concerns, and those it learns 

*Neath the mother-ring and instinctively. 

And yet it is happy as happy can be, 

Enjoying each moment right merrily. 

It knows not at all what to-morrow may 
bring, 

And yet it can cheerfully chatter and 
sing; 

To-day is enough; yesterday has no 
siing; 



(^ "ALL CLEARS 

It carries no load, for it simply trusts 

God 
For its homey and its food, and for 

everything. 



'ALL CLEAR!" 67 



X* 



In Nature s endless tponders — Praise! 

Praise without ceasing! 
Wit ho u t ending — Praise ! 

In all high mountains — Praise ! 

Praise when they glimmer golden in the dawn ! 

Praise when the setting sun, dropped out of 
sight, 

Still holds them from the oncome of the 
night 

With tender fingers dipped in rose love- 
light! 

And praise when, in the moonlight clear and 
bright, 

They tower aloft, serene, and calm, and 
white. 

Praise in the valleys, nestling snug and 

sweet, 
Amid the folds of the tumbled robes 
About the mauntain's feet! 

Praise in the wide wild riot of the moor. 
Untamed, untamable, rejoicing, free, 
Unruffled, jubilant in sun and, shower, 
All stern, all sweet, compact of mystery. 



68 "ALL CLEAR!" 

Praise in the bold tors heaving through the 
mist, 

Mystic, defiant, robed in amethyst! 

Praise in the smiling combes that run be- 
tween, 

Boscage and tillage and a glad terrene! 

Praise in the forest's lofty pillared aisles, 

Dim-lit, soft-carpeted, and silent save 

For Nature's own sweet voices, all attuned 

To worship in such noble sanctuary ! 

— And in far lowlands glimpsing through the 

trees. 
Wreathed in dove-mists and tempting secre- 
cies I 

Praise in vast sweeps of prairie and of 

veldt, 
Where Space Majestic in his might is felt, 
Felt to the crushing of man's soul, unless 
Himself within himself can fruit the wilder- 
ness! 

Praise in dim deserts fading to the line 
Where earth and sky in wanton dance: com- 
bine! 
Praise where the springs^ of fertile oases 
Relieve and bless their vast austerities ! 

Praise in the eternal wastes of ice and snow, 



"ALL CLEAR!" 69 

Where in the dimness life runs thin and 
low! 

— In those wild splendours of the Northern 
skies 

Which fill their nights with mystic phan- 
tasies ! 



In the exuberance of tropic lands, 

Where Nature gives herself with open hands, 

Be Praise! 
Such prodigal profusion she displays, 
Man can but gaze in wonder and amaze. 



Praise in the weeds and flowers and grass 

that weave 
Robes of forgiveness where the battles 

were, 
Bidding man rise above his soul's despair, 
Since God and Nature every loss repair! 

Praise in the humble coltsfoot, 
Striving, might and main. 
To clothe earth's winter nakedness, 
And hide the rough scars made by man, 
With fair bright robes again ! 

— In tiny lichens, covering the bare 

Scarred rocks with coat of living arabesque 



70 "ALL CLEAR!" 

Time's ravage to repair! 

There, all unseen, they weave with patient 

care 
Their broideries of green and black and gray, 
And rare old cloth of gold beyond compare. 



— In sweet rain-voices after droughty days, — 
In thirsty earth's deep joy of drinking — 
Praise ! 

— In rushing storms that purge all Nature 
clean, 

In sunny days wherein she smiles again ! 



— In the glad promise of the seven-fold bow, 
That heartens man to-day, as long ago! 



— In all the faery magic of the frost, 

Be Praise! 
— The work below-ground on the stubborn 

clods, 
The work above which such rare skill dis- 
plays, — 
The traceries, enamelings, designs, 
Unique and unsurpassable, and all 
In perfect silence to perfection wrought. 



"ALL CLEAR!" 71 

Praise in the pure white mantle of the snow ! 
—In the weird elfin gleams in glacier caves, ^ 
Spectral and soft as those phantasmic 

tints 
That flit within the curl of breaking waves ! 



In that lone star, and that cold lonely moon, 

Be Praise! 
—Steel-bright in a steely sky, they two 

alone, 
When the blood-red sun, his short course 

run, 
Sinks into the dun, dull-glowing West, 
Where the high-piled bank of smouldering 

mist 
Lays a rampart of amber-rimmed amethyst 
On the winter's afternoon. 



Praise in the great waves roaring to the 

moon. 
Wild dance of splendour to a noble tune! 
Praise in the little waves laughing at the 

sun. 
All aglee, merrily, dancing in their fun! 



Praise in the sun's great flashing shields of 

light 
Upon slow-heaving seas! And Praise 



72 ''ALL CLEAR!" 

In that long shimmering pathway of delight, 
When the white moon rides high the windy 

sky, 
Queen Regnant of the night! 

Nature's ten thousand thousand voices raise 
To her Creator jubilance of praise, — 

Praise without ceasing! 

Without ending — Praise! 



Thank God for opened eyes, 
And hearts not too overwhelmed 
With worldly snar'es and earthly cares 
For His immanencies! 

To find Him everywhere. 

In every smallest thing, 

Is His good gift man's soul to lift 

Above its earthly fare. 

To trace His delicate 
Fine craftsmanship in all. 
Gives sense of new-born reverence 
For all things small and great. 

In all things Him we findy 

If we bnt bring to all. 

With conscious will and loving zeal. 

An open heart and mmd. 



'ALL CLEAR!" 7Z 



xir» 



In all Thy hidden Tporkings — Praise! 

Praise without ceasing! 
Without ending — Praise! 



— In that great wonder of recurring birth 
In every seed that, in dear Mother Earth, 
Rough-nursed in darkness by the uncomely 

clods, 
And fed by rains and snows, stirs in its 

sleep, 
And, quickening into life, shakes off its bonds, 
Strives up and down, and so climbs through 

at last 
Into the light, and lives, and fruits, and 

bears, 
And drops the seeds again of further life! 
In that great wonder of recurring birth, — 
Praise without ceasing! 
IV it ho ut ending — Praise ! 



And so with man, — so with all life on earth; 
Life never dies, but ever with new birth 
Speeds on and on the great triumphant 
round. 



74 "ALL CLEAR!" 

Transmitting oft, but never dying out. 
In that great glory of undying life, — 

Praise without ceasing! 

Without ending — Praise! 



In those vast slow-surrendering mysteries 
Of force ominific, everywhere at work 
In silent might fulfilling Thy behests, 
Waiting but man's discovery to be 
His willing servants in captivity, 

Be Praise! 



From one small acorn mightiest oak may 

grow, 
And from that oak a million oaks may grow. 
So in one man a world may be renewed, 
As in one man came Life's supremest good. 
To Him and Thee be everlasting praise! 
Praise without ceasing! 
Without ending — Praise! 



Praise in those mighty hidden workshops, 

where, 
Unseen, in silence, with most loving care. 
The wonders of Thy grace Thou dost pre- 
pare, — 
Storing the earth, the seas, the ambient air. 
With treasure infinite for man's delight; 



"ALL CLEAR!" 75 

Ruling the winds and waves, ranging the 

spheres 
Charging with life the changing atmospheres; 
Limning with joy the sunsets and the dawns, 
Tinting the grass, the flowers, the wayside 

weeds, 
Filling to fullest full man's amplest needs 
And more, — For Thy exhaustless store above, 
By Wisdom charged, is ministered by Love. 



In all Thy hidden^ wonder-working ways, 
Which ail our hearts with gratefullest 
amaze, — 

Praise without ceasing! 
Without ending — Praise! 



In silence and in quietness 
God's mighty works are wrought 
Unheard, unseen. His workmanship 
Is to perfection brought. 



Deep in the earth, and high above. 
His unknown powers display 
Their multiform activities, 
And all creation sway. 



76 \ "ALL CLEAR!" 

Ever at work, unheard, unseen, 
He is, in everything, 
Cause and effect at once in all 
That is or e'er has been. 

Help us, O Lord, in quietness 

To do our work, like Thee, 

And our souls brace with Thy sweet grace 

Of high tranquillity! 



''ALL CLEAR!" 77 



xiriT- 



In all Thy creatures — Praise! 

Praise without ceasing! 
Without ending — Praise! 

And special praise 

In all the common things of field and farm, 

Unconscious praise of quite peculiar charm! 



— In the sweet-scented breath of browsing 

kine, 
Blowing like incense on the dewy morn ! 



— In the blithe barking dogs, whose faithful 

eyes 
Anticipate their master's urgencies ! 
— In the old shepherd's patriarchal look, 
As to the heights he turns his wayward flock! 

— In the great horses' pride of conscious 

strength, — 
The straining muscles tense beneath the skin. 



78 ''ALL CLEAR!" 

The arching neck, the dumbly-speaking eyes, 
The great fringed hoofs that scrape upon the 

stone, 
Restless for work, impatient to b€ gone; 
Or, in the furrow plod so cunningly 
As the rich earth curls deftly from the plow! 



Praise when at last the welcome gloaming 

falls. 
And home they jog with rhythmic-jingling 

chains, 
Like little bells that ring at eventide, — 
Home to the stable's well-earned warmth and 

cheer, 
To the full rest that knows not care or fear! 
Praise in their wholesome lassitudes that tell 
Of one more day's work truly done and well ! 



Praise in the frisking lambs beside their 

dams ! 
Praise in the calves' shy gambols in the 

straw ! 
Praise in the murmurous hum of homing 

bees, 
All tireless in their sweet activities! 
Praise in the clank of milk-pails in the byre! 
Praise in the milk, white-foaming in the pails ! 
Praise in the deft and hardly conscious skill 
Of man and maid unconsciously displayed! 



"ALL CLEAR!" 79 

Praise in the waving fields of golden corn ! 
Praise in the pregnant, well-thatched rounded 

stack ! 
Praise in the merry clatter of the flail ! 
Praise in the shrill hone on the well-worn 

scythe ! 
These all their praises tell in accents blithe. 

Praise in the lesser folk who all rejoice, 
Unwittingly, with strange discordant voice, — 
Hens, ducks, and geese, domestically bent, 
And telling it with joy vociferent. 

Praise in the sleepy croaking of the rooks, 
In solemn conclave settling for the night ! 
Praise in the gleaming lights in cottage homes. 
That tell of rest and cheer when evening 



In all Thy creatures, great and small, be 
Praise! 

Praise without ceasing! 
Without ending — Praise! 



80 "ALL CLEAR!" 

Let every living thing praise God, 
That He hath found it worth 
A place in His creation's whole 
An entry on the noble scoll 
Of His completed earth! 

And since nought is that liveth not. 
Let everything piro claim 
Its jubilance in service true, 
And day by day its tro'th renew, 
And glorify His name! 



'ALL CLEAR!" 81 



XHlTf 



Praise in all Times and Seasons! 

Praise without ceasing! 
Without ending — Praise! 

Praise in Spring's joyous breaking of the 

bonds 
That Winter knit about her all too long! 
Praise in her birthing, bright and naked-free, 
Ablaze with new-born ecstacy. 
And bursting with glad song! 
Praise in her youthful beauty, all arrayed 
In bridal splendours though she be but maid! 
— In all the thrilling rapture of her lays, 
— In all her days, — in all her blithe glad ways. 

Be Praise! 



And Praise 

In Summer's golden days and jocund ways! 

— In all her matronly provisioning 

For every want — and more! When her full 

store 
Of fruit and flower she hastens to outpour 
Upon us with a great glad joyous laugh, 
And bids us her full bowls of nectar quaff. 



82 "ALL CLEAR!" 

Praise in the Summer evenings when the trees 
Cast their long shadows far across the lawns, 
And, as the gloaming falls, the soft night 

breeze 
Sets all the little leaves a-whispering 
Their prayers and lullabies! 



In Autumn's rich and ripe maturity 

Be Praise! 
— In all her brimming wealth of fruit and 

bloom, 
— In all her golden sheaves brought safely 

home! 
Praise in her fragrant ricks, her swelling 

stacks ! 
— In the glad thought that nothing needful 

lacks ! 
Praise in her beauties everywhere unrolled, 
— Her woods aflame with amber and with 

gold. 
Her carpets rare, here wonders manifold! 
— In her soft langours as she falls asleep. 
When Winter stalks along his tryst to keep ! 



Praise in the Winter nights, when cold with- 
out 

But cheerier makes the cosy warmth within ! 

When, round the blazing hearth, high com- 
pany 



"ALL CLEAR!" 83 

Foregathers, and the best, though oft unseen, 
Is still most there, as it so oft has been, — 
Friends of the past, book-friends, all joyous 

souls 
Who lift Life up above its earthly goals. 
In Winter nights, and dazzhng Winter days, — 
In all Thy times and all Thy seasons — 

Praise ! 

Praise without ceasing! 
Without ending — Praise ! 



Let all men everywhere praise God 
For His most fair creation; 
And praise still more the Open Door 
Thai offers man salvation! 

Let all men everywhere praise God 

For His Son's sacriUcing ! 

That through His Own He hath made 

known 
His mercy all sufficing^ 

Praise God all creatures everywhere 
For w.ercies so unbounded ! — 
No thing there is but ever is 
By His great love surrounded. 



S4 "ALL CLEAR!" 



XHD. 



In life, and all things living — Praise! 
In death, and all that dies not — Praise! 

Praise without ceasing! 
Without ending — Praise ! 



In that sweet soul of Life which came from 

Thee, 
And goes again to Thee, and lives with Thee, 
Through all the aeones of eternity, 

Be Praise! 



In life that lives in all that Thou hast made, 
Deep hid at times in things inanimate, 
Yet in each single thing Thou didst create, 
Is life, which follows Thy wise ordering; 
Nought is too small, nor aught too great to be 
The casket of Thy rich immanency. 

In all things living — Praise! 

Praise without ceasing! 

Without ending — Praise! 



'*ALL CLEAR!" 85 

And in Great Death be Praise ! 

Death, the Bead-Roller of all noble souls, 

Whose lives pressed ever up towards noblest 

goals ! 
Death, who, with loving hands, at last unties 
The swaddling-bands of Life's activities, 
— Death, who flings wide the Golden Gates of 

Life, 
And brings to man God's Peace, and rest 

from strife! 
— Death who leads Life to larger life above, 
And crowns it with the miracles of Love; 
— Death who reveals the long-locked secret 

things, 
And gifts the soul with grace of tireless 

wings! 

Death, the Divided,— The Untirer, Death! 
Death, the Destroyer, — The Restorer, Death! 
Death, the Dethroner, — The Crown-Bearer, 

Death ! 
Death, the Deposer,— The King-Maker, Death ! 
Death, the Dark- Veiler, — The Revealer, 

Death ! 
Death, the Defiler,— The Purifier, Death! 
Death, the Downcaster, — The Uplifter, Death! 



86 "ALL CLEAR!" 

Death, the Despoiler,— The Enlarger, Death! 
Death, the Discomfitor, — The DeHverer, 

Death ! 
Death, the Disabler,— The Renewer, Death! 
Death, the Desolator, — The Consoler, Death! 
Death, the Grim Gaoler, — The Releaser, 

Death ! 
Death, the Devourer,— The Life-Giver, Death ! 



Death, the Shroud-Bearer, — Death with The 

Key! 
Death, the Peacemaker, the Ender of Strife! 
Death, not the Master, the Servant of Life! 
Death, the Arch-Enemy? — Nay, Death The 

Friend ! 
Death the Beginning of Life — not the End ! 
In Death, and all that dies not — Praise! 
Praise zvithout ceasing! 
Without ending — Praise! 



"ALL CLEAR!" 87 

Life! . . . Death! . . . 
What then? 
Save only in the name 
They are the same. 

For death begins with life's first breath, 
And Life begms at touch of death. 
The child's iirst feeble cry 
Death's claim doth ratify. 
Life's last long restful sigh 
But tells the new life nigh. 
So, fear not either one or other 
Each is to each but great twin-brother. 
Where'er thou goest, there go they, 
Close comrades with thee all the way. 
And since Uis better far to g\0 
With two good friends than one dread foe, 
Lay a hand gently in the hand of each, 
And thou shall learn the best that each can 
teach. 



'ALL CLEAR!' 



Let all men everywhere praise God 
For all that He hath done. 
But most of all for Love's High Call 
Through Jesus Christ, His Son! 
To him all praise and glory be 
While Time its course doth run! 
To Him the Kingdom and the Power, 
When Time and Everness once more 
For everymore are one ! 



w<^ 



vy. .-.rpr-fij' -: ■ 



LIBRPRY OF CONGRESS 




